


Power

by Apostat3



Series: The Inbetween Series [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 22:25:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18882457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apostat3/pseuds/Apostat3
Summary: Magic Man Jensen does magic in a Sci-Fi city with no magic. Also possession.





	Power

Jensen bolted around the corner, ducking his head at the sound of bullets ricocheting off the wall where he had been not a moment ago. He thanked his favourite ethereal entity, since there were so many it would be hard to thank them all. It was still only a little surprising when the entity answered back.

“You have chosen this time to be praying? It does not seem opportune.” It spoke. Its voice sounded feminine, the kind of thing you'd expect from a goddess, but it had a layered sound to it, as though multiple voices all spoke at once. The voice came from inside Jensen’s head, which made him sound a bit crazy when he replied, as only he could hear it.

“I may not have the chance in a minute!” He shouted back, trying to speak up over the roaring wail of an alarm which had just kicked in. The corridor he had been fleeing down was coming to a dead end, and his pursuers were closing in on him fast. “I seem to be short on options here, care to make a suggestion?” He asked, glancing back over his shoulder to see how far away his opponents were, only to find they had just turned the corner into his hallway. Bullets whizzed past him, one catching him in the shoulder but the rest flying away to shatter the window at the end of the corridor. A cold wind blew in from outside, but that was the least of Jensen’s concerns. He was more worried about the storm of bullets and angry men. 

“Jump.” The voice came suddenly to his mind, startling him. What was more startling to him, however, was the suggestion it spoke.

“You must be joking.” He replied in disbelief, but yet his voice betrayed the fact he knew he didn't have much choice.

“Jump, now.” The voice was more panicked this time, urging him on.

“But my magic won't-” Jensen was cut off by the voice again, this time shouting on his head.

“Jump!”

With a yelp, Jensen launched himself from the window, flailing his arms around for a moment before he remembered what he had to do. He tore at the air with his hands, trying desperately to open a portal. The crystals on his leather gauntlet flickered, but he couldn't channel the mana. He clawed at the air, but he just couldn’t seem to summon the strength.

'Well, it was bound to happen eventually’ Jensen thought to himself as he resigned to his fate.

* * *

They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die, and for Jensen that certainly proved true. In the moments as he clawed at the air, trying with little success to open a magic portal with magic he no longer had, he found himself remembering. Remembering how he got to this stage, and reflecting on it. He remembered his home, so far away. The lush green fields surrounding his fortress town, the great walls of stone that always made him, and his parents, feel so safe. He remembered his parents. Kind, caring people with little in the way of possessions or land or money and yet, they were content. Jensen envied that, the ability to be happy with what you had. He was always aiming for more, stronger magic, more money. But in a way that wasn't all his fault, his friends had some impact on that, too. Well, his friend, he supposed. He’d only ever had one true friend. A woman who initially he’d tried to rob, as he remembered, but who turned out to be far more valuable as an ally and a friend. Oh, the adventures they'd had; killing hordes of bandits, exploring ruins, robbing homes. There was part of him that had always wanted more between them, but he supposed it was too late now. Long distance relationships were hard enough, without an interdimensional barrier between them.

Either way he supposed it didn't matter. His fate was sealed the moment he had fallen from the deathly grasp of an undead wizard into this strange new realm, a world of technology and tyranny. But, despite the short time he had spent here, he reflected on his new friends here, pondering what the fate of the insurgents would be. Despite the fact he knew them so little, they had been the ones to save him, take him in when he had arrived. They seen his gifts as just that, gifts, to be treasured while the likely result of being taken by their enemy would have been to turn him into a tool, to be used. Their cause was just, that much was certain; fighting back against an all powerful corporation that's singular purpose was to strip all of their freedom. But they were horribly under equipped to deal with the issues. And without him, he feared for their fate. Just then, as he was giving up hope, the crystals changed colour, going from their normal purple to a shining gold, so bright it almost blinded him. Then the very world seemed to shimmer and split, and Jensen hurtled headlong through a portal, consuming him in its light. The last thing he saw as he tumbled through the air was the guards, staring at him from the window in disbelief, and he allowed himself a smile. 

* * *

Jensen crashed to the ground in the insurgent safehouse, creating a reverberating ringing sound as he smashed into the metal floor. He groaned and rolled over, then lifted his head to look himself down. His jeans had torn when he had impacted with the floor, tearing a streak across the right knee. His black hoodie was stained red around the left shoulder, and the patch seemed to be spreading.

“Holy shit, dude! Where did you come from?” Jensen’s attention was drawn from himself to Ramone, who sat at his computer, looking Jensen up and down, over and over. Ramone ran a hand over his almost bald head, feeling over the tiny specks of black hair that could not be shaved off. “I was tracking you, you were…” he trailed off, unsure as to how to respond to this, a most foreign situation to him.

“That, my friend,” Jensen spoke quietly, out of breath and in pain, but still managed a charming smile. “Was magic.” He put extra emphasis on the word magic, drawing the word out in a breath. He watched as Ramone’s face went through several stages of emotion, from shock, to suspicion, to pure glee.

“That. Was. Awesome! I thought you’d lost your magic, though, right?” His face turned quickly back to suspicion, his eyebrows knotting together and his eyes narrowing.

“I did. She didn't.” Jensen said simply, his smile fading as he felt he head going light and his vision fading. He thought he heard Ramone say something, but he had lost consciousness by the time he could say it.

* * *

Ramone stared dumbly at Jensen for a few moments before he realised what had happened. He saw the blood stain still expanding, and did what any sensible person would do. He screamed. “Help!” he yelped as loud as he could. Never before had he felt so lucky to be close to their makeshift med bay. “Help! I need a doctor!” Within moments, a field medic entered his room, saw the damage and immediately ran off to get help. Ramone could only stand and watch as they put his friend onto a stretcher and carried him off to the med bay. The last thing he saw was a gentle, golden glow over Jensen’s wound as he was carried away.

* * *

“This has to end.”

Jensen’s voice rang out through the room as all heads turned to face him. He was dressed as before, his dark hoodie and jeans, still torn and bloodstained from the previous events. He had made a miraculous recovery, the doctors had said, he'd been back on his feet within the hour. It was a though he had healed by magic, they’d commented. He allowed himself a secret smile at that. Now he stood in the rebel’s conference room, a small metal container with a rickety wooden table in the middle covered in maps and tablets scrolling with information. He was surrounded by hardened leaders and tacticians, shaped by years of conflict. All of whom wanted to run away. Again. 

“We can't keep just running from our problems. Everytime we turn to run, we give them a chance to recover and, before long, they're hot on our heels once again. This has to stop.” Jensen leaned forward, resting his weight against the table in the middle. He let his words sink in, casting his eyes around the room, examining the others’ reactions. They all looked grim, and he knew what they would say before they said it. 

“We cannot spare the forces,” one spoke up, a grizzled looking woman with a shaved head and an eyepatch. Judging by the scar protruding from under it, it was clear to see why she wore it. “We suffered far too many losses on our last attempt, it would be suicide to try again now.” the others around the room nodded solemnly, and Jensen knew he would find no help here. 

“Very well.” He nodded and, without another word, spun on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving the leaders of the insurgency to mutter among themselves.

* * *

“I trust that you have a plan, yes?” The voice spoke up inside Jensen’s head again, and as he looked to the side he saw an ethereal figure walking with him. She was clad in great, ornate golden armour, with great flowing blond hair that seemed to stretch down to her heels. Her pauldrons were enormous, curling up in the shape of an eagle’s talon. In the centre of her breast plate a carving of an eagle’s head seemed to burst from the very metal itself. On her greaves, there were no parts coming from the material, instead ornate designs were sunken into the material, great snaking lines running the length of the greaves, from thigh to foot. They continued down and wrapped around into boots. They look near enough impossible to take off. She was strikingly beautiful, and she seemed to radiate a golden aura. It was just a shame that only Jensen could see her, she was the very picture of what a warrior goddess should look like, which should be expected, given she was one.

“I always have a plan. Just,” Jensen hesitated for a moment, before continuing, “A really bad one.”

“Oh, please enlighten me, mortal,” she spoke almost sarcastically, but genuinely enough that Jensen only rolled his eyes a little bit.

“Well, I believe that now I have reclaimed some semblance of my magical power back, I would walk into their high fortress, on my own, and destroy whatever foul device it is the keeps their communications running.” Jensen had some confidence in his voice, the kind that said he knew that his plan was frankly insane, but that he believed it could work. That meant he wasn't telling her something.

“What’s the catch in this grand scheme, then?” She narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously, but Jensen replied with his most charming smile.

“Nothing. It is quite as simple as that.” Saying no more than that, he turned off and walked back into Ramone’s room.

* * *

“You want me to do what now?” Ramone’s voice was not one of amusement, and Jensen cursed his luck internally.

“Come now, what could be more fun than an unsanctioned mission to infiltrate the enemy's headquarters, with a wizard, and knock out all that which gives them their strength. And, since I am going in alone, all of your forces will still be intact to launch a second attack swiftly, striking while they are weak?” Jensen made grand hand gestures as he spoke, hoping the wavy shapes of this and that he made would somehow improve his argument. It didn't seem to be working.

“Okay, okay, look. I appreciate that this sounds like, totally badass but come on man! You really think this is a good idea? We could get in huge shit for this, man. Huge. Shit.” Ramone ran his hand over his head again, and common this he did while stressed, Jensen had noticed. Jensen could see Ramone was hesitating, so lowered his voice and took a step closer. 

“Look, I'm going with your help or without. Would you rather me go in there alone, or go in there alone with no idea where I'm going?” The words hung there for a few moments before Ramone sighed.

“All right, all right. Fuck man…. I'll help, but this is just a quick in and out. And you owe me.” Ramone pointed at Jensen to prove his point, but quickly swiveled back around in his chair to face his computer. He picked up a small device and threw it to Jensen, who caught it with ease. “Tracker. It'll lead you right to their centralised..” he trailed off when he seen the obvious lost look on Jensen’s face. He had forgotten how little of his world Jensen knew. “Their control thingy.” He concluded simply, when Jensen nodded, he span around in his chair to face his computer. “Whenever you're ready, you can-” he didn't get to finish his sentence before he was startled by the sudden glow that filled the room and, just like that, Jensen was gone.

* * *

Landing in a roll, Jensen barely had time to look up before two guards were running for him. He didn't know how much magic that would be effective at range he had regained, and he was about to begin channelling mana when he heard the voice in his head.

“Let me take control" she spoke softly, and immediately he felt a presence pressing at his mind. It spread like wildfire, the strange warm feeling encompassing his mind. His eyes turned from their usual blue-green hybrid to a burning gold, and his hand whipped forward, and the shining blade seemingly appeared from thin air and flew towards one of the guards. It went straight through him, travelling with such force that it burst the armour on his chest and came flying out the other side less than a moment later, before it spun in the air, changing its course and coming back through the other guard, doing the same thing as it did to the first in reverse. Then the blade came back to Jensen’s side before dissipating as quick as it came. He rose up to his feet, his skin emitting an aura of golden power seeming to run like water just under the surface of his flesh. His hands still seemed to burn with shining fire, and he walked with an air of confidence as though nothing could stop him. He was a man with the power of a divine, how could mere mortals prevent him from completing his task. 

“Second left, then fourth right, third left, second left.” Ramone’s voice came in his ear piece, but Jensen barely heard him. It took physical effort to hear over the pure magical power that echoed around in his mind.

“Got it.” His voice seemed to boom, as though it were layered, a thousand voices all speaking at once. Ramone found it unnerving. 

“You okay, man? You sound… different” Ramone was concerned, they hadn't tested Jensen’s magic, it could have all sorts of adverse effects, but as he got no reply, all he had to go off were the readings of Jensen’s vitals. Even then, they weren't much use, scattered as they were. Whatever power Jensen had channelled, it was clear to Ramone that he couldn't keep it up for long.

* * *

Jensen didn't even hear Ramone anymore. Instead his ears were filled with what sounded like a powerful drumbeat, drowning out all other sounds that tried to compete. Fortunately for him, it didn't leave him exposed, as his divine accomplice seemed to pick up the slack. Channeling her power through him, she tore through the tower, floor by floor, annihilating all in their path with spells the likes of which Jensen had never seen before. They seemed to crackle and burn with radiant gold light, so bright it was near blinding to look at directly. Jensen could only imagine the fear the guards must have felt seeing him now, a man who looked like he was ablaze with all the fire of the sun, and just as much rage to match. But it wasn't his own rage, he found. He felt the emotion but without any cause. This was a side effect of the possession, he figured, a glimpse into the feelings of his new other half. He presumed that meant she was as eager to go home as he was. The tracker Ramone had given him was flashing more intently now, indicating they were nearing their destination. Two more guards rounded the corner, but they were disintegrated in an instant by a fireball Jensen threw from his hand without even thinking. As he continued the tracker began to emit a sound, a loud beeping noise that even got his attention even through the hazy noises of magical power ringing in his ears. He glanced around, spotted the nearest door and reached out to it. Placing his hand against it, frost began to form around it. It quickly spread, covering the whole door with all the speed of a torrent of water coming to a waterfall. After a moment, he took a step back and kicked the door, and it shattered apart into tiny ice shards, dotting the floor with reflective fragments that glinted beautifully in the light of his magic. He stepped inside and, sure enough, he found was he was looking for. “Is this it?” Jensen turned back on his communications with Ramone, not even realising he had turned it off. He held up a small camera he had been given, a wonderful device allowing him to show Ramone exactly what he was seeing without needing to be there.

“That's the thing. Now blow that shit. But, be careful man. Whatever sorta magic you're doing, it's hurting. You gotta be-” Jensen cut Ramone off again, or was it the spirit that possessed him? At this point, Jensen wasn't quite sure what was him anymore... But that was Ramone talking, making him doubt. Jensen understood the power he had better than anyone, and he knew he could control it. 

“This… whatever it is, it appears durable. Any recommendations on how to destroy it?” Jensen inquired, this time not to Ramone, but to his new body buddy. 

“I do. Allow me.” Before Jensen could respond, he felt his arms moving without his consent. They seemed to ignite, great plumes of flame appearing all over them. He clutched them into his chest, despite the burning pain it caused him. He could feel power welling up inside him, rising up through his whole body until the constant vibrations of it coursing its way around him was all he felt. Jensen could feel it boiling over, a dark magic so great even he could not control it. He tried to struggle against it, but to no avail. He had lost control of his body, his powers. All he could do was wait. As it grew in magnitude, the feelings which had once been vibrations turned to sharp pain, like his whole body was being ripped apart from the inside. He began to yell out, his cries echoing into the corridor beyond the room. Just as he thought he couldn't take it any longer, it was all unleashed at once, tearing out of his body with an audible bang, and then everything went white, then purple, then all very suddenly black.


End file.
